Quick change calender roll



Jan. '12, ,1943.

H. A. ANDERSON QUICK CHANGE CALENDER ROLL 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 8, 1940 INVENTOR.

HAP/F) ,4. arm/250m BY 4m; .4.44.

ATTORNEY Jan. 12, 1943. H. A. ANDERSON ICK CHANGE CALENDER ROLL Filed Nov. 8, 1940 I I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. I'M/PR) A. ANOFAJO/V BYMZW.

A TTORNEY Jan. 12,1943. H. A. ANDERSON QUICK CHANGE CALBNDER ROLL Filed-Nov. a, 1940 INVENTOR. fismrr ,4. awaiaray BY 4.4.x: 43.

3 Sheets--Sheet 3 ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 12, 1043 QUICK CHANGE CALENDER ROLL Harry A. Anderson,

Naugatuck, Conn, assignor to United States Rubber Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application November 8, 1940, Serial No. 364,810

11 Claims.

This invention relates to calendering machines and more particularly to mechanism for enabling rapid changing of impression rolls, to facilitate the production on a single machine of sheeted stocks having different designs.

During the process of calendering various plastic stocks such as rubber composition in the production of shoe soles, and in the manufacture of many other articles, it becomes necessary tofrequently change an impression roll where sheeted stocks having many different designs or configurations are to be produced on the same machine in a day's run.

-Heretofore these frequent changes have been difficult and could not be made satisfactorily owing to the considerable work and time required to dismount and reassemble the various parts.

It is one of the objects of this invention to eliminate the foregoing difficulties by providing simple and easily operable mechanism enabling the operator of the machine to make the necessary changes from one roll to another in a minimum of time, whereby a substantial increase is effected in the work capacity of the machine.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will appear as the description proceeds, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a calender embodying the invention; a

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 an enlarged side view of a portion of the calender with parts broken away in section to show interior parts of the operating mechanism; and,

Fig. 4 a cross section on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings there isdisclosed for illustrative purposes a calender of suitable type in which to incorporate the present improvement. Such a calender includes a frame I having a central fixed roll I I mounted in the usual oppositely disposed bearings I2 and adapted to cooperate with upper and lower adjustable rolls I3 and I4 to form a sheet I5 from the plastic stock I6 as it is fed downwardly between the rolls II and I4 and then between the rolls II and I3. In machines of this kind the rolls I3 and I4 generally include shafts such as shown at H mounted respectively in bearing blocks I8 and I9 which are carried at opposite ends of the rolls and slidable in guides 20 and 2|, whereby the rolls I3 and I4 may be moved toward and away from the central roll II to adjust the thickness of the sheeted stock I5.

Suitable adjusting means for the bearing blocks I9 may comprise screws 22 threaded through the frame and engaging the blocks at 23 as is well understood in the art. The upper roll I3 carried by the bearing blocks I8 may be adjusted as indicated in Fig. 2, by the use of vertical rods 24 secured to the blocks I8 at 25 and threaded through the worm gears 26 which mesh with worms 21 secured to a horizontal shaft 28 mounted in bearings 29 and rotatable by means of a hand wheel 30.

It is the purpose of the present invention to combine with a machine of this or similar type an easily removable and replaceable roll such as employed for impressing or embossing designs in a plastic stock as it passes through the machine, and enabling other similar rolls of a set having different designs to be quickly substituted as required. Accordingly, the frame III of the calender is shaped to provide a pair of lateral extensions 3! having horizontal surfaces 32 constituting a pair of supports or bed plates for the bases 33 of the two bearing blocks 34 which latter carry bearings 35 for reduced ends 36 of an impression or embossing roll 31 extending across the machine at the side of and in cooperative relation with the roll I 3. The frame III is shown recessed or curved as at 38 and the adjacent face 39 of each of the bearing blocks 34 correspondingly shaped to afford close positioning of the rolls I3 and 31 in the frame. The rolls II, I3 and I4 may be connected together respectively by gears II I3 and I4 and driven by any suitable power means such as a motor connected by a chain to an appropriate sprocket (not shown) on the shaft of the roll II. The shaft of the impression roll 31 carries a gear 31' adapted to mesh with a gear IT on the shaft I! of the cooperating roll I3. Since each of the interchangeable impression rolls carries its own individual gear and bearing blocks, it is unnecessary to detach these parts from each other to make changes from one impression roll to another. They are thus interchangeable as complete units, and. considerable time is saved making the exchange.

In order to hold the bearing blocks 34 so that I the impression roll 31 is against the interposed sheeted stock It opposite the roll I3 with the gears I3 and 31' in mesh, and, at the same time to enable quick substitution of another roll of different design, two vertically movable abutments in are provided in the frame III. The abutments 40 are arranged to normally contact the two blocks 34 at the points 4| which are preferably in a horizontal Plane with the axes of the two rolls I3 and 31, whereby the rolls are held together to the best advantage against tile steel: being run iewardly thercbetween.

The lateral supports it may also be prodded with guide slots 42 adapted to receive tongues 43 cf the blocks 34 in order to insure proper lateral positioning of the roll 3i on the frame III.

The abutments preferably include set screws t tightly threaded through the top ends of a pair of slide elements 45 which are mounted for vertical movement in guides 45 associated with the extensions 3| of the frame, the points or contact M being made by the ends of the set screws. The two slide elements 45 are bored out to provide cylinders 41 for the reception of pistons 48 mounted on the upper ends of stationary piston rods 49 whose lower ends may be flanged at 50 and secured to the foot of the frame Ill as by screws Packing glands 52 are secured as by threading at 53 into the bottom of each of the cylinders 41 to form fluid tight, joints around their respective piston rods, the upper ends of which may be reduced at 54 to receive washers 55 and suitable interposed piston packing 58. These piston assemblies may be held in place by nuts 51 which are tightened and locked on the reduced and threaded extensions 58 of the rods 49. Pins 59 threaded through the frame and extending into slots 60 of the slide elements 45 prevent turning of the latter about their vertical axes.

The cylinders may be operated by any desired hydraulic or other appropriate pressure medium such as compressed air to depress the abutment screws 44 to the dotted line positions beneath the plane of the surfaces 32 and within recesses 44' as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, whereby the impression roll 31 with its bearing blocks 34 may be moved back and away from the roll l3 and then lifted from the supports 32 by suitable means such as an overhead hoist 6 I, after which a new roll with its bearing blocks and gear and having a different configuration or marking may be substituted by lowering onto the supporting surfaces 32 of the frame with the tongues 43 in engagement with the guide slots 42, and the gear teeth brought into mesh with the teeth of the gear l3. The pressure medium is next admitted to the cylinders 41 to restore the abutments to their effective positions behind the bearing blocks 34 at which. time the machine is ready to proceed with the new design against the sheeted stock, and any desired adjustment may be made by turning the set screws 44.

In the interest of simplicity the pressure medium may be admitted selectively at opposite sides of the pistons 48 through openings 52 and 63 communicating respectively with passages 64 and 65 in the piston rods, and under the control of any suitable or known valve arrangement. Pressure medium admitted through the openings 82 which are adjacent the bottoms of the pistons 48 will flow into the cylinders 41 and act against the surfaces 55 of the glands 52 and thereby force the slide elements 45 and their abutment screws 44 downward to their inactive positions and at the same time exhaust the other sides of the cylinders through the openings 53 and the passages 65. When it is desired to raise the abutments to their active positions the pressure medium is admitted through the openings 63. This fills the cylinders above their respective pistons and clears the cylinders at their other sides. In Fig. 1 a piping and valve arrangement is shown for carrying out the foregoing operations of the two cylinders. The two passages 64 are connected together by a manifold 56 which communicates with a port 61 of a asoao o two way valve 58. The two passages 65 are slim ilarly c mnected together by a manifold 59 which communicates with a port ill of the valve 58 which latter is also provided with a pressure supply port "ll connected to a source of air pressure through a pipe 12. A handle l3 operates a valve core 14 to switch the pressure medium into either one of the manifolds 65 and 69 and to open an exhaust port 15 to clear those portions of the cylinders not being supplied with the pressure medium from the supply pipe 12. By this arrangement both of the slide elements 45 are raised in unison.

It will be evident from the foregoing description that the impression run, its bearing blocks and gear, require very little work for removal from the machine, since they merely rest under the influence of the force gravitation on the extensions of the frame and are.unobstructed at their upper ends, being held against movement away from the calender roll by the two abutments which are operable to move quickly out of the way. Obviously very little time is required to interchange these roll units.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description is given for illustrative purposes only, and that the invention may be otherwise embodied and considerably varied in its practical applications without departing from. the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. Tnecombination in a calender of a frame, a

.pair of rolls, one of which is provided with bearing blocks which rest on the frame under the infiuence of the force of gravity and are unobstructed at their upper ends, and abutments movable upwardly and downwardly respectively into and out of engagement with the bearing blocks and normally effective to hold the two rolls in cooperative relation, said abutments when in lowered position being beneath the plane of the frame portions upon which said blocks rest. said abutments being in th form of slide elements which are confined to upward and downward movement in guides associated with the frame.

2. The combination in a calender of a frame, a pair of rolls disposed in side by side relation, one of said rolls being provided with bearing blocks which rest on the frame, under the influence of gravity and are unobstructed at their upper ends, abutments movable upwardly and downwardly to respectively engage and disengage said bearing blocks, said abutments being adjustable toward and away from said. bearing blocks to vary the distance between the rolls, and power operated means for moving said abutments upwardly or downwardly with respect to the horizontal plane of said bearing blocks.

3. The combination in a calender of a frame, a calender roll mounted in the frame, an impression roll associated with the calender roll, said impression roll being mounted in bearing blocks which rest under the influence of the force of gravity on extensions of said frame, and movable abutments adapted to normally engage said bearing blocks to hold the impression roll against lateral thrusts in cooperative relation with the calender roll, said bearing blocks being shaped to project into recesses in the frame, said abutments being movable to inactive positions beneath the plane of the extension portions upon which said bearing blocks rest, said abutments being in the form of slide elements which are confined to upward and downward movement in guides associated with the frame.

4. The combination in a calender of a frame, a calender roll, an impression roll, bearing blocks for the impression roll which rest on the frame under the influence of gravity and are unobstructed at their upper ends, guides for holding said bearing blocks against axial displacement, and slidable abutments adapted to be moved into the plane of the axis of said impression roll and into a plane beneath the bases of the bearing blocks, said abutments being in theform of slide elements which are confined to upward and downward movement in guides associated with the frame.

5. The combination in a calender of a frame, a calender roll mounted in the frame, a pair of bearing blocks, an impression roll mounted in said bearing blocks, lateral frame extensions onwhich said bearing blocks rest under the influence of the force of gravity, said bearing blocks being unobstructed at their upper ends. and horizontally adjustable abutments vertically movable into or out of engagement with said bearing blocks to respectively hold the impression roll in working position and to permit removal thereof by lifting from the frame extensions, said abutments when moved to inactive positions being beneath the plane of the bases of said bearing blocks, whereby to clear said blocks of obstructions at the rear thereof, said abutments being in the form of slide elements which are confined to upward and downward movement in guides associated with the frame.

6. The combination in a calender of a frame,

a pair of bearing blocks on said frame, a calender roll having its opposite ends mounted in ender roll having its opposite ends mounted in said blocks, movable abutments for selectively engaging and disengaging said bearing blocks, a cylinder and a piston operatively associated with each of said abutments, and means for controlling the admission of a pressure medium to said cylinders to move said abutments selectively to their active and inactive positions.

9. The combination in a calender of a frame, a pair of bearing blocks on said frame, a calender roll having its opposite ends mounted in said blocks, movable abutments adapted to engage and disengage said bearing blocks, a cylinder connected to each of said abutments, a statlonary piston for each cylinder secured to the frame, and means for controlling the admission of a pressure medium at opposite sides of the piston, whereby to move said abutments into and out of engagement with said bearing blocks.

10. The combination in a calender of a frame, a calender roll, an impression roll, bearing blocks for the impression roll which rest on the frame under the influence of gravity and are unob- 77 pression roll carrying bearing blocks and a drivsaid blocks, guides for said bearing blocks, vertically movable abutments adapted to normally engage said bearing blocks to hold them in working position, said abutments being movable to inactive positions clear of said bearing blocks, and means for preventing turning of said abutments about their vertical axes, said abutments being in the form of slide elements which are confined to upward and downward movement in guides associated with the frame.

'1. 'lhe combination in a calender of a frame, a pair of bearing blocks on said frame, a calender roll having its opposite ends mounted in said blocks, vertically movable abutments operable to engage and disengage said bearing blocks, and fluid actuated means for operating said abutments.

8. The combination in a calender of a frame,

mg gear constituting a unit adapted to rest on the frame under the influence of the force of gravity, a gear associated with said calender roll adapted to mesh with the driving gear of the impression roll, and abutments normally engaging said bearing blocks to hold the two rolls in working positiomsaid abutments being adapted to be dropped to inactive positions free and clear of said bearing blocks to permit easy access at the rear of said blocks for sliding the same a pair of bearing blocks on said frame, a cal- 1 along the frame portion to disengage the gears, whereby said unit may be readily lifted off of the frame for the substitution of another similar unit provided with an impression roll having a different design, said abutments being in the form of slide elements which are confined to upward and downward movement in guides associated with the frame. a

. HARRY A. ANDERSON. 

